Nominet Trust reveals five emerging social tech trends that will transform lives in 2018

February 2018

Nominet Trust reveals five emerging social tech trends that will transform lives in 2018

07 February 2018

A new Nominet Trust report, Transforming Lives with Tech: A Global Conversation, demonstrates how emerging tech, including AI, Blockchain and VR, is transforming lives.

The report reveals key insights from five years of NT100 research, highlighting what it takes for tech ventures to deliver social impact at scale.

Nominet Trust starts a global conversation about tech and society, launching a new podcast series ‘Our Lives + Tech’

7th February 2018, London – The impact of tech on our lives often comes under a harsh spotlight. However, a new report by Nominet Trust, the UK’s leading social tech investor, highlights the tech trends that are set to transform our lives for the better.

The report, Transforming Lives with Tech: A Global Conversation, was commissioned to celebrate the fifth year of NT100 – Nominet Trust’s annual campaign that champions the most inspiring examples of social tech from around the world.

Based on an analysis of 400 NT100 projects and 10 in-depth case studies, the report shares key insights into what it takes to enable social tech ventures to achieve impact at scale.

Looking to the future of social tech, the Trust reveals five emerging trends which are set to transform lives globally and showcases 10 pioneering ventures that demonstrate the transformative potential of these trends. The full report is available as a free download here.

Nominet Trust’s top five social tech trends for 2018 are:

1. Blockchain to bring inclusion to billions

The rise of this secure, decentralised and transparent system is set to continue in 2018, with socially motivated ventures harnessing its potential to improve financial systems and bring inclusion to billions of people.

Alice is using blockchain to help homeless people get off the streets of London by restoring trust in charitable giving, while BanQu is harnessing the tech to give refugees a secure and verified ID, tracking everything from transaction history to educational qualifications.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already a part of our everyday lives, from Google search rankings to iPhone’s face ID. This year AI will help us handle ever more complex data to transform how we deliver key services including healthcare and education.

BrainGate has developed pill-sized electrode implants that respond to thoughts, aiming to restore a level of independence to millions of people affected by paralysis. While the Smart Lens Program is developing a contact lens that measures glucose in tear fluid creating a non-invasive solution to monitor diabetes.

Although most well known for their use in immersive gameplay, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have huge potential to transform our lives, from delivering healthcare to changing the way we learn, understand each other and navigate the world.

In hospitals, AccuVein is improving the accuracy of intravenous therapy with a handheld AR scanner that projects visual images of a patients’ veins onto the skin’s surface. Patient’s Virtual Guide, an AR app, has been developed to guide children through the hospital environment before they are admitted as patients, easing stress and anxiety, and improving outcomes.

The Zanzibar Mapping Initiative uses drones to capture aerial images and topography of the island, helping to monitor and respond to floods and disease. In Canada, Cyberworks has developed a motion-sensor module that can be attached to a power wheelchair enabling it to navigate through a building autonomously, controlled by voice, eye-gaze or a touch screen.

Vicki Hearn, Director of Nominet Trust, commented: “We firmly believe that, when social needs are baked into the very early stages of tech development, the transformational effect on people’s lives is multiplied. During the five years we’ve been curating the NT100, we’ve amassed a rich bank of knowledge which we’re sharing to help accelerate the growth of socially-motivated tech around the globe.

“The insights and trends brought together in our new report aim to inspire the next generation of innovators, and to encourage those who have the resources and expertise to create an environment in which socially transformative tech can grow and scale.”

To explore the themes highlighted in Transforming Lives with Tech: A Global Conversation in greater depth, Nominet Trust launches this month a brand new podcast series, Our Lives + Tech. The series features leading voices who’ll discuss developments in social tech including big data, blockchain and bionics, and their potential to transform lives for the better.

Download the report here. Follow #NT100is5 and @nominettrust on Twitter.